Visual signal type annunciator



July 29, 1952 D. J. MUNROE VISUAL SIGNAL TYPE ANNUNCIATOR Filed Jan. 5,1950 sourzcc OF POTENTIAL did/i020 2 COMMUNICATION CIRCUIT BETWEENSTATIONS |+3 readily assembled;

Patented July 29, 1952 VISUAL SIGNAL TYPE A NU CiATOR David Munroe,-Racine, Wis., assignorrto Webster Electric Company, Racine, Wis, acorporation of Delaware Application J anua'ry5, 1950, SerialNo.136,877

The present invention relates to annunciators and-more particularly toannunciators of the Wis ual signal type which .are particularly welladapted for use with intercommunication apparatus. application ofRichard H. Campbell, Serial No. 136,956, filed concurrently with thepresent-ape plication and assigned'to the same assignee as the presentapplication.

As will be understood by those skilled in the art, annunciators havenumerous applications. They are, for example, extensively employed inconnection with intercommunication apparatus to indicateby visual and/oraudible means to the called party, not only that such party,fforexample, is being called, but also'designating'the calling party.Preferably, "the signal produced by such annunciators should remaineffective untilthe calling party has "taken-some --positive steps toanswer the called-party. Ithasybeen customary, "for example, inconnection withsuch intercommunication apparatus, to provide selectiveswitching means, such as station -selec tor "switches, whereby thecalledparty-mayselect and complete 'the "communication ei-mm with thecalling-party; 'It would'be-desirableito terminate the signalingoperation of the annunciator concurrently' with or followingsuch-positive action. Numerous types 'o'f iannuncialbors have beensuggested heretofore. All er these prior" arrangements, however, havejbfibri-compli cated and have not lent themselvesfavorably-to certaintyof'operation and lowcost/as well as high speed production from a mnufe1etufing standpoint. Itwouldbedesirable-to "provide; an annuncia-torparticularly well adapted for-use with intercommunication; apparatuswhich; I11

notpnly give long and satisfactory service, 1 I which-maybe manufacturedat -low costand Accordingly, itis -an'object of the-present in ventionto provide a new and improved annunciatOr'system.

Stilt-another object -of the present-invention resides'in the provisionof" an -improved ann'unciator er the-visual signal type-particularlywell adapted for-use with intercommunicationequip It is af urther objectof the presentinvention to provide animprove'd low cost annunci'at'orfor use in connection with intercommunicating apparatus of simpleconstruction so as ito be well adapted for use in substantial numbersin' 'inter communication systems comprisinga' large number offstations.i

It is an improvementon a copending u biects' a advanta es Q iEP LDPfiQHinvention will become apparent-as 5 .6 iPl WZPE description proceedsand. the :ffiatures of net lty which characterize the invention will bepointed out with particularity in thec ims; nnexed to a f i a partofthis specification- For a better understanding of the-presentedti r frenee may be :had to h acc meenving drawingiin which:

Fig. 1' is ,a fragmentary perspectivaview 9f embodiment of theannunciator of :the ;present invention shown associated with a -;portion;of a n intercommunieation system; I

Fig. 2 is a schematiccircuit d iagrarn;illustrat.- ing an.:app1icati0l,1 of the annunc iatorpf l figjj and v Fig. 3 is a somewhatperSDeQtive view eta-pertion of :astation illustratin .how a pluralitypf annunci tors of the pr e in ent-tin may :be associated therewithina-small-compact arrangement.

The present invention is generally concerned with the details ofa-visual si nal type-annunremote from the annunciatorwishing tocommunicate with .the .party located adjacent-the annunciator. 'The'annunciator includesa ,S itr. able signal lightwhichispreferablycontinually energized whenever the unit-,ofiheintercommunication apparatus is rendered .operative as by supplyingpower thereto. The annunciator further includes an aperture. throughwhich light rays .from .thesignal. may be directed, In addition, aslidinggate for. effectively closing said aperture is provided. :By]means of ,a vsuitalcqle eleotromagnetenergized through action of thecalling party, the sliding gate may bemoved to permit light rays from@said signal light to pass throughsaid aperture With the resultthat thevisual. signal producedby the annunciator is efiective to indicate tothe calledparty that he is being or has been called by :a-particularcalling party. "This signalremains effective until-some action is takenon the part ofthe called party to complete an intercommunicatingcircuit-between the called and calling stations.

For a" better understanding ofthe present invention, reference may behad to theaccompanying drawings in .which the annunciator. of thepresent invention. is generally designated by. the reference numeral I!)in Fig. 1 ofithecdrawing. It will be understood that the annunciator of.the present invention has numerous applications. :In

the called party will known ata 3 calling or has-called him.

order to aid in understanding the operation of the annunciator of thepresent invention, it has been illustrated in connection with anintercom munication system generally designated at H in Fig. 2 of thedrawing. Intercommunicating apparatus such as might be employed forintercifice communication or the like, comprises a plurality of stationsdesignated in Fig. 2jby'the reference numerals I2, I3, l4, etc.Appropriate nomenclature, such as station I, station 2, station '3,etc., has been applied to the individual be had to 1 where the apertureltd is shown units as a further aid in understanding the op- I-,;,

eration of the annunciator per so with which the present invention isparticularly concerned; Conventionally, each station of aninteroommunicating system may include, in addition to the annunciators,a loud speaker; selectivelyopfirw I able communication controllingmeans, station v selector means and the like. Generally,each stationincludes a unit or device, which is usually disposed in a position whereit may readily be seen, comprising a suitable cabinet or housing l5 onthe front panel of which may be located a plurality of manually operablestation -se.-

"lector control means designatedas ltd, 1622, c

and. ltd respectively, each'of'whichpreferably has an operative portionextending within the 'cabin'etl z as through suitable apertures Ha, lib,Ho and lid, respectively. By Way of example only, the unitillustrate'din Fig. 3- of the drawing is showncapable of being used withfour additionalstations to provide a five'station system. Each stationhas as many annunicators as there are stations which'can call aparticular station in the system, i. e;, on less annunciator than thenumber of stations in the system. This indicates the need' for compactannunciators when used in a multiple station intercommunication system,if it is. desirable as usually is the case, to maintain the cabinet orhousing 15 at each station as small as possible.

As illustrated, each of-the selector. means 48 has associated therewithan annunciator'fl it) forming the basis of the presentinvention whichexteriorly of the'oabinet i5 appearsonlyas'an aperture lt. Asillustrated in Fig. 3 or the drawing, four apertures Ida," 81), 180 andifidere provided, one associated'with each selectormeans 15' marked withthe corresponding subscript.

These apertures are capable of being illuminated by a'visual signalmeans in a predetermined manner descriheo. hereinafter so as toindicatewhich stationis calling. If desired, suitable indicia shown inFig-B'of the drawing; such as the names or" the parties at thedifferentstations;

may appropriately be ass'ociated, w'iththe apere tures i 8, so that whenthe annunciatoriassociated with'a particular, aperture 18 isrenderedeffective,

The selector means: it are preferably station selectorswitches'designate'd by the samereierence'n'umerals'in Fig. 2 as in Fig.8. As:illus-- trated. these switches comprise amanually actuable memberwhich maybe moved either to the right or 'to'th'e left as viewed *inEigh3'and'in either position being "capable of operating certain controlcircuits. In 2-- 'of'the drawing some of the circuits, for theselectorswitcheslta and 1th are" indicated. As.-,illustrated,- each oithe switches has associatedtherewith' two sets of switches eachhaving'normally open contacts designated as Eda Zia respectively for-theselective contr'o'l' mea'ns .150 The contacts Eta are illustratedas-controlling'a communication glance who is and the selector switch Hiemay be seen to comprise a manually movable member 22 pivoted to meansassociated with the cabinet id as indicated at 22A, so that a portionthereof extends through the aperture lid for manual actuation fromoutside the cabinet. The contacts 20a and Zia are not visible in Fig. lof the drawing, but the resilient supporting arms for thes contacts aregenerally designated by the. reference numoral 23. Thesearms 23 aremounted in spaced insulated relationship through means comprising apluralityof insulators '25 which in turn are supportedon an angularlydisposed flange 253a or an L-.-shaped bracket 2d having one arm 5 of theL attached to the inside front panel of the cabinet 15. As illustrated,said one arm of the bracket 2 has an aperture 25 therein which isaligned with the aperture lla. Preferably .the member 22 is pivoted tothe bracket 2t whereby the selector switch may compris a subassembly ofparts mounted on the bracket 24. The end of member 22 disposed withinthe cabinet I5 is effective to move the resilient contact arms 23selectively to close the contacts 252a or.2la or, if desired, others notshown in the drawing.

In accordance with the present invention, a suitable light source 28connected to a source of electrical energy is disposed so that rays oflight therefrom are directed towards eachof the apertures I311, l8b, l8cand Mid. These apertures may, if desired, be covered with a suitabletranslucent window. The signal light 28 is 7 preferably, energizedwhenever the power [sup,

ply; unit for the particular station of the intercommunicating apparatusis energized.

Forthe purpose of producing a controlled visuaL-signal at the front ofthe cabinet 15 indicative of the particular annunciator operated andthus of the calling station, there is provided,

' hire-32. As illustrated, slide 30 is mounted for limited reciprocalmovement to the insideof cabinet [5 by fastening means such as 3 3 c):-tending through the slots 3|. Slide 38 is preferably formed of an opaquematerial and is adapted to move between the extreme position shown inFig. 1 of the drawing, where the apertures [8c and-32 are misaligned andanother extreme position where the apertures l8d and 32 are aligned,theformer being the annunciator 01f position and the latter theannunciator on or operated'position. It will beobvious that only .in theoperated position will light from the Also,

s s v l" present invention :has b h trat'd is not beifig -ii'sd, theslide-"3W edet lffil'id -"'-position=-shown in Fi c'h dsig natd' as thea'jriniilic'iator off Tor perate'd' position. "Upon the "'energ'izatienor he ele'ctroiriagntw'l the' s'lide SO 'is inov d-"to a' pos'itienwhere the" apertures 18a, 2 are in alignment, whereby rays oflight--r6mtlie source may-pass through {these a-Ii-gne'dapertures 1 to igive a clear --'iridication of; annunciator sands 9a 'of' -a support =39to rov y siiitabl'y attaehed ei'tlier tem ably or i cpiatitn'. {-rneannuntiato'r is restored its f the '4 -b. Ke i-I lustrated, a'ne'lectrical *c'i'r'c'uiflwith' 171 18 c rit I selector switch atstation2 and m stres -traum source "of "power-schematically indicated as abattery 45. It,will bev apparent that momentary closure of thecontactsfl by operation of a selector switc h', siinilar "to switchlfi'a at :sta-

tion I, will cause winding alto be"energized'-2f with the consequent'rnovement pi; the plunger 4! in a, .direction pivotally to rotatememberjfi, in a"counterclockwise directionas viewed inf-Fig. ii "ofthe'drawing, "with the result that the'fslide 730, 'isfmoved' to the "leftun't'ili tlie apertures IBa Ta'ntli-H 'aiealigned. With the annunciator'e "plo'yed in tin intercommunicating system, its operation as justdescribed will indicate to the p y a atio ergized to operate saidannunciator, means opt he is being has been C d by the party erativelyinterconnecting said electromagnet and at station 2. By manipulating theselector signal member whereby energization of said elecswitch l6a toclose the contacts 20a, which retromagnet efi'ectively slides saidmember from its quires rotation of member 22 in acounterclockpredetermined to its operated position, and means .wisedirection as viewed in either Figs. 1 or 2, including a manuallyactuable control element there is completed a communicating circuit be-40 and a lost motion linkage element operatively tween stations I and 2.Under these conditions connected to said control element and said sliditwill be understood that it is desirable to reable signal member operableafter operation of store the annunciator to its non-operated posisaidannunciator for sliding said signal, member tion and, in accordance withthe present invento its predetermined position.

tion, the slide 30 is connected with the selector 2. In an annunciatorof the visual signal type switch 16a by a suitable link 48 extendingcomprising a housing, a light source associated through opening 241) asindicated in Fig. 1 of the with said housing, means defining a firstaperdrawing. If desired, two smaller openings inture in said housingtoward which light rays stead of opening 241) could be used for the linkfrom said source may be directed, an L-shaped and electromagnet. Thelink 48 is illustrated as .50 Slide having armvtheleef attached to Saidhaving a lateral projection 4801, at one end housing for limitedreciprocal movement relative hooked over the lateral projection 30a ofthe to said first aperture, means defining a second slide 30 and, ifdesired, soldered or otherwise aperture in said one arm adapted selectvely to be secured thereto as indicated at 50. The other ed and misa n dh S fi s ape u end of the link 48 is illustrated as a loop 48bendepending upon the position of said slide, an gageable with a pin 51attached to member 22. e e tr a D l y mounted member op- The loop 481)and pin 5| provide a lost motion r tively interposed between saidelectromagnet 7 connection whereby link 48 does not intereiere and theother arm of said L-shape Slide whereby with free operation of the side30 in response to energization of said electr m n t causesmoveenergization of the electromagnet 42. The conment of the slide andalignment of said apertures, nection also enables member 22 to beoperated to a anually actuable control element carried by close thesignaling circuit without operating or said housing, and meansinterconnecting said affecting the position of the slide. other arm ofsaid L-shaped member and said In order that the party at station I maycall control element for misaligning said apertures the party at station2, the contacts Zla are conin ponse to a predetermined operation of saidnected in circuit with a source of potential 52 control element. and awinding 53 of an electromagnet forming 3. In an annunciator of thevisual signal type part of an annunciator located at station 2 andcomprising a housing, a source of light rays aspreferably identical withthe annunciator I0. sociated with said housing, means defining a firstSimilarly, the contacts 211) are connected in ciraperture in saidhousing toward which light rays cuit with a source of potential 54 and awinding from said source may be directed, a horizontally 55 of anelectromagnet forming part of an andisposed L-shaped slide, meansincluding a, pair nuciator located at station 3. of elongated slots inone arm of said slide and In view of the detailed description includedfastening means attached to said housing and above, the operation of theannunciator of the extending into said slots for mounting said slide forlimited reciprocal movement relative to said housing and said firstaperture, means defining av second aperture in said one arm adapted tobe alignedand misaligned with said first aperture depending upon theposition of said slide, an :electromagnet, and a pivotally mountedmember operatively interposed between said electromagnet and the otherarm of said L-shaped slide whereby energization of said electromagnetcauses movement of said slide and alignment of said apertures. U

,4. In an annunciator of the visual signal type comprising a housing, asource of light rays associatedwith said housing, means defining a firstaperture in said support toward which light rays from said source may bedirected, a horizontally disposed L-shaped slide, means including a pair.of elongated slots in one arm of said slide and fasteningmeans attachedto said housing and extending into said slots for mounting said slidefor limited reciprocal movement rel-ativezto said housing and said firstaperture, means defining :a second aperture in said one arm adapted tobe aligned and misaligned with saidfirst aperture depending upon theposition of said slide, 'an

,electromagnet, a pivotally-mounted member operatively interposedbetween said electromagnet and the other arm of said L-shaped slidewhereby Henergization-of said electromagnet causes movement of saidslide and alignment of said aper-' tures, a manually actuable controlelement carried by said housing, and means interconnecting said otherarm of said L-shaped member and said control element for misaligningsaid apertures in response to' 'a predetermined operationof said controlelement.

5.- A- station selector switch and annunciator means including a housingsupport mounted to the rear of said housing and having an apertured wallrearwardly extending, a station selector switch :at one side of saidwall and secured thereto, switch operating means located at said ,oneside of said wall and having a portion extending outside said housingfor operating" the station selector switch, an electromagnet mounted atsaidone side of said wall and having a movable armature projectingthroughthe wall, visual signal means including a slide mounted on saidhousing adjacent said wall and movable by said armature, and visualsignal restoring means extending through the said wall operativelyinterconnecting said visual means and said switch operating means. 7 r vi r a DAVID J. MUNRQE.

I j REFERENCESJCITED The following references are of record in the fileof this patent:

' :UNITED STATES PATENTS Number 7' ,Name Date 955,815.v 1 Miller May 3,1916 11,913,937 Loefiier June 13, 1933 2,179,792 Lapin NOV. 14, 19392,450,441

Mitchell Q. Oct. 5,1948

